Tag: cfp rankings

Georgia football falls in CBS Sports’ CFB rankings

Georgia football dropped in CBS Sports’ CFB rankings.

It’s a good thing the only poll that matters is the College Football Playoff rankings. Well, at least for now. We’ll find out if I will still be saying that on Tuesday night when those are released.

But after a week in which Georgia did not look particularly great in a 19-13 win over Texas A&M in Athens, CBS Sports dropped the Bulldogs one spot in its rankings, swapping them with Alabama. The Dawgs remained No. 4 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.

Related: Kirk Herbstreit predicts CFP teams if Georgia beats LSU

CBS Sports’ new-top is as follows:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Alabama

5. Georgia

6. Utah

7. Oklahoma

8. Florida

9. Minnesota

10. Baylor

Alabama looked good, sure. But it was against Western Carolina. The Tide may very well still be able to win a national championship over any of the playoff committee’s top-four teams, but if you don’t win your conference, let alone your division, you should not be given the opportunity to prove that.

Here is my prediction for what the College Football Playoff rankings will look like on Tuesday night.

College Football Playoff Rankings Projection, Week 4

What will the College Football Playoff rankings be in the fourth unveiling on Tuesday night?

[jwplayer PkCtjTd4-boEY74VG]

What will the College Football Playoff rankings be in the fourth unveiling on Tuesday night?

As always, a few things to keep in mind …

1. This is simply a snapshot. We can see how the committee is thinking early on, and we can get a first look at what it seems to like, but it gets thrown out next week and the process starts over.

2. In general, the committee over the first five years of this thing loves big wins and hates ugly losses. You can lose, but don’t get wiped out. At the end of the day, the committee can like any team it wants to, just because. However … big wins, big wins, big wins.

3. Each spot in the order is argued over. It’s not just a random list thrown together in a room. Everyone has to agree that team X needs to get put ahead of teams Y and Z. You might not agree with the rankings, but each spot in the top 25 has been meticulously debated.

And after all of that, it’s about feel, eye-test, and resumé.

So what will they be? Here’s the best guess for what the fourth College Football Playoff rankings will be on Tuesday night.

25. Appalachian State Mountaineers 10-1 (24)

The Mountaineers have been fine since losing to Georgia Southern, but they haven’t been dominant. Even so, there’s a solid chance the American Athletic stars cancel each other out, and if Boise State loses … an ASU win over a good Louisiana team might just be enough to move into the top Group of Five spot.
Up Next: at Troy

24. Iowa State Cyclones 6-4 (22)

The Cyclones will move down a wee bit only because others are looking a bit stronger. They’ve been fun, and they’ve won two in a row, but they’ll still hover around the bottom part of the top 25.
Up Next: at Kansas State

23. USC Trojans 8-4 (23)

How amazing does that 30-23 win over Utah look now? On a three-game winning streak to close things out – and taking five of the final six games – there’s a shot the Trojans end up in the top 20 in the final rankings.
Up Next: Bowl Game

22. Oklahoma State Cowboys 8-3 (21)

The Cowboys have gone on a four-game winning streak, justifying the CFP’s inclusion in the rankings from the start. Beat Oklahoma, and they’ll get one of the Big 12’s better bowl spots – even if they can’t get to the Big 12 Championship.
Up Next: Oklahoma

21. Virginia Tech Hokies 8-3 (NR)

It’s a bit of a call … the Hokies will rocket up into the rankings after beating Georgia Tech and Pitt over the last two weeks by a combined score of 73-0. The winner of the showdown against Virginia will likely end up in the Orange Bowl – assuming Clemson goes to the CFP – as the ACC’s representative.
Up Next: at Virginia

20. Boise State Broncos 10-1 (20)

There’s the Boise State we’ve been waiting for. It dominated Utah State to get to 10-1 with a date against Hawaii coming up for the Mountain West title. Win the next two games, and don’t be shocked if the Broncos end up in the New Year’s Six – going to the Cotton Bowl – because there might just be a split between …
Up Next: at Colorado State

19. Cincinnati Bearcats 10-1 (19)

The winner of the Cincinnati-Memphis showdown will be the lead team in the pack for the Group of Five’s team to get into the Cotton Bowl, but …
Up Next: at Memphis

18. Memphis Tigers 10-1 (18)

The battle against Cincinnati will probably be the first of two meetings – they could face each other in the American Athletic Conference title game a week later. The winner of the first meeting can cement a spot in the Cotton Bowl by winning the rematch – if there is one.
Up Next: Cincinnati

17. Iowa Hawkeyes 8-3 (17)

The win over Illinois won’t be enough to move up the Hawkeyes thanks to the logjam ahead of them. However, close out at 9-3, and they’ll end up in the top 15 in the final version.
Up Next: at Nebraska

16. Auburn Tigers 8-3 (15)

The Tigers will fall a little bit only because of the likely movement of Notre Dame, but it doesn’t matter. Getting a New Year’s Six game isn’t going to happen, even if there’s a win this week to ruin Alabama’s season.
Up Next: Alabama

[lawrence-related id=501888]

15. Oregon Ducks 9-2 (6)

The Ducks will sink like a rock after the crushing loss to Arizona State. They might not fall this far, but it won’t be any lower than this. The College Football Playoff is off the table, but win the next two games, go to the Rose Bowl. That’s hardly a horrible consolation prize.
Up Next: Oregon State

14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-2 (16)

The Irish need to dominate Stanford in a blowout win and then hope for a whole lot of help to move up in the final rankings. There’s still a distant shot at a New Year’s Six bowl, but there’s too much traffic. They’re rocking and rolling, though, since the comeback win over Virginia Tech.
Up Next: at Stanford

13. Michigan Wolverines 9-2 (13)

Only Ohio State is playing better in the Big Ten right now. If the Wolverines can get past the Buckeyes in a big home upset, they’ll rocket up into the top ten and have an honest shot at getting into the Rose Bowl. A 12-1 Big Ten champ – or unbeaten Ohio State – will go to the CFP, and the second-ranked Big Ten team will go to Pasadena.
Up Next: Ohio State

12. Penn State Nittany Lions 9-2 (8)

The committee won’t pound Penn State too much for losing to Ohio State on the road. Get to 10-2, and the Rose Bowl is still an outside possibility if it finishes ahead of Minnesota and Wisconsin in the final rankings.
Up Next: Rutgers

11. Wisconsin Badgers 9-2 (12)

The ranking will matter later. If the Badgers beat the Gophers, they’re off to play Ohio State for the Big Ten title. Win that, and it’s off to the Rose Bowl. Lose that, and it depends on the final ranking – just getting to the B1G title game isn’t going to be enough to ensure a trip to Pasadena – Michigan and Penn State could end up ranked higher.
Up Next: at Minnesota

NEXT: Top Ten

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

College Football Playoff projections following Week 13

Predicting the College Football Playoff rankings after Week 13.

Week 13 saw Georgia football beat a talented Texas A&M team to advance to 10-1 on the season.

Georgia looked like it has all season – unable to finish a drive on offense but smothering on defense.

That’s been Georgia’s recipe this season, but how much longer will it work? We will find out in two weeks when the Dawgs take on LSU in Atlanta.

Right now, Georgia is sitting at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings behind LSU (1), Ohio State (2) and Clemson (3).

Right behind the Bulldogs is Alabama, hoping that it can not only win next week vs Auburn but also that LSU will take care of business in the SEC Championship, thus eliminating Georgia from playoff contention.

Behind Alabama currently is Oregon, but that won’t last long after the Ducks lost to Arizona State. The best part about Oregon losing is that now we don’t have to hear about how Rob Mullens, the Oregon AD and the chair of the CFP selection committee, is “recused from the room” when the committee discusses the Ducks. Is it just me, or has that been mentioned way too many times this season?

Ohio State definitely had the most impressive win of the weekend among the teams near the top of the rankings (Arizona State probably had the best win, though, in beating Oregon). I would not expect the committee to swap LSU and OSU, however. LSU’s beaten plenty of top-ten teams itself.

Then there’s Utah, which is 10-1 and needs some help to make it into the final four. The Utes have not really beaten anyone, but if Georgia and Alabama both fall and Utah wins its conference, then it has a much better argument.

Oklahoma, however, assuming it wins out, will be right there with Utah vying for that last Playoff spot if both Alabama and Georgia lose before the final rankings reveal after the conference championship games wrap up.

Here’s our College Football Playoff projections:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift tells it how he sees it on offense

Georgia running back D’Andre Swift tells it how he sees it on offense

Georgia football running back D’Andre Swift played in what might have been his final home game at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, going out with a W one last time.

Though the Bulldogs were able to beat the nearly ranked Aggies of Texas A&M on senior day, the win wasn’t pretty from an offensive perspective.

Swift mentioned his frustrations with the offense and even got on to Fromm a bit during the game, with love of course.

“For us to get to where we want to go, we have to get better on offense.”

Against the Aggies, Swift carried the offense all game. 19 times and put up 103 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards. However, the offense failed to convert Swift’s yards into points. His frustration was justified, but he and Fromm are fine and understand that it’s just part of the game.

Georgia will have a mini bye-week in Atlanta next week to right the ship against Georgia Tech before facing the daunting LSU offense in The Benz. Time will tell if the Dawgs can turn it around and use better weather conditions to their advantage on the scoreboard.

CFN Podcast: Interview With Chris Fallica, CFP Rankings Reaction, Is The SEC Overrated?

CFN Podcast: College Football Playoff rankings reaction, our interview with ESPN’s Chris Fallica, and is the SEC really that good?

[jwplayer PkCtjTd4-boEY74VG]

CFN Podcast: Reaction right after the College Football Playoff rankings were announced, our interview with ESPN’s Chris Fallica, and is the SEC really that good?

Pete Fiutak and Nick Shepkowski talk about the latest College Football Playoff rankings, discuss whether or not the SEC is overrated this year, and we interview The Bear, Chris Fallica from ESPN’s CollegeGameDay.

Check it all out …

Week 13 CFN Podcast Full Episode

[protected-iframe id=”a8eb95ef2c0ffc60339d873c9ce28a94-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://anchor.fm/cfnpodcast/embed/episodes/CFN-Podcast-Ep-29—Latest-CFP-Rankings-Reaction–Chris-The-Bear-Fallica–SEC-Resume-Debates-e93cmt” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

[lawrence-related id=501104]

Our interview with ESPN’s Chris Fallica

[protected-iframe id=”90d77db31c6af7a045e55cee5b900fa5-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://anchor.fm/cfnpod2/embed/episodes/Chris-The-Bear-Fallica-joins-Nick-and-Pete-e93dcu” width=”400px” height=”102px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

– Subscribe to the CFN Podcast on iTunes

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

College Football Playoff Rankings Reaction: 5 Things We Learned, Top 25 Best Wins Of 2019

Five reactions and what we learned from the third rankings from the College Football Playoff committee. Also, the 25 best wins this season.

[jwplayer PkCtjTd4-boEY74VG]

Five reactions and what we learned from the third rankings from the College Football Playoff committee. Also, the 25 best wins so far this season.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– If Alabama wins out …
– The known unknown is …
– What’s a big win? Top 25 wins
– What it all really means

5. Rapid-Fire First Reaction To Latest College Football Playoff Rankings

Nothing much actually changed, and that in and of itself is important. The College Football Playoff committee basically punted on a slew of big decisions and calls for now, but that matters.

Oklahoma didn’t get a big bump. Minnesota rocketed up to 8 last week after handing Penn State its only loss so far this year. Oklahoma came up with a special comeback and performance to get by Baylor, and it only moved up one spot. That means …

There appears to be a hard ceiling on how high the Sooners can get. Beating CFP No. 21 Oklahoma State would be nice, and getting by No. 14 Baylor would be solid again if that happens in the Big 12 Championship, but there’s not much room to move up the rankings, because …

Even at 12-1 with a Big 12 Championship – this applies to Baylor, too – there’s way too much traffic. It would take a slew of upsets along the way – like Auburn beating Alabama, a two-loss Pac-12 champion, and some other twists and turns – to get in.

[lawrence-related id=501162]

There’s an outside shot that Notre Dame can get within shouting distance of the New Year’s Six. At 16, the Irish have to count on No. 15 Auburn to lose to Alabama; hope for No. 14 Baylor to drop another game; expect No. 13 Michigan to lose to Ohio State; expect No. 10 Minnesota or No. 12 Wisconsin to lose when the they play each other – and the winner to lose the Big Ten Championship; get a loss against Ohio State out of No. 8 Penn State; and take advantage of Utah and/or Oregon losing again. The Irish  might be able to move up well into the top eight and have an honest shot at one of the big bowls.

Clemson is the only ACC team in the top 25. There are three American Athletic Conference teams ranked – it’s a rough run for the ACC. Virginia Tech should be in the top 25 somewhere, and it likely will be in the near future, but that’s it for now. There’s no one on Clemson’s schedule currently in the College Football Playoff rankings.

– If Alabama wins out …
– The known unknown is …
– What’s a big win? Top 25 wins
– What it all really means

NEXT: If Alabama wins out …

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

What the College Football Committee said about Ohio State after the 3rd set of CFP Rankings

The third release of 2019 College Football Playoff Rankings are out. Find out what the CFP Committee said about Ohio State after the reveal.

[jwplayer OoFi41Mv-er0jUifI]

The latest College Football Playoff Rankings are out and Ohio State has held steady at No. 2 according to the committee that decides these types of things.

Each week, after the rankings are revealed, the CFP Committee holds a teleconference for select media members to answer questions about the discussions and process used to rank the teams into their respective slots.

We’re a part of those and we’d like to pass on what the Playoff Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens had to say about Ohio State. So, here goes …

On the overall comments from the selection committee on the Buckeyes:

Ohio State is strong on both sides of the ball. They’ve made a statement all year long.

On the importance of the final score of games:

Question from the media: You were asked a question last week about the
importance of final score versus what happens in a game. I’m just curious, Ohio State was up I think 42-0 on Maryland at halftime and pulled its starters. They were up 42-7 early in the 3rd and pulled the starters against Rutgers. When the committee is evaluating those games, does the evaluation kind of end there? Is that sort of a punctuation mark? How do you look at those?

ROB MULLENS: We watch the entire games. We certainly do not incent margin of victory, but we understand those were all convincing wins for Ohio State.

Follow Up Question: I think they’re winning by an average of 40 something to 6 or something over the first three quarters of games this year. How much is a statistic like that factoring in to where the committee sees Ohio State right now?

ROB MULLENS: We don’t evaluate that statistic, but again, we watch the games and we’re very aware of the flow of the game and the score.

On the separation between teams near the top:

Question from the media: I wondered if you could provide some insight in
terms of the gap between the three unbeaten teams at the top and maybe just 1 through 3 and between 4, 5 and 6 and beyond, is there a big gap in your mind between those groups?

ROB MULLENS: Well, we’re very thorough in our conversations 1 through 25 and even beyond, and so the committee does spend considerable time on 1 through 3. Obviously those are the three undefeated teams, and after last week, with LSU’s win, Ohio State’s win and Clemson’s win, the committee felt that was the order. LSU 1, Ohio State 2 and Clemson 3 through week 12.

On the evaluation of teams:

Question from the media: I just have a similar question to the last one. Do
you guys look at teams and say and evaluate and credit them when they are complete and they do seem balanced offensively and defensively compared to teams that are stronger on one side of the ball?

ROB MULLENS: Well, results are the most important thing. Let’s start with that. But sure, when you dig beyond the results, we’re looking at the how, and so we are looking at offense, defense and special teams.

On the Tua situation being similar to Cardale Jones in 2014:

Question from the media: Kind of following up on the question regarding
Tua, this is a relatively unique situation. I get Cardale Jones is the only comparable situation like this before. Has there been any talk in the committee room or was there any talk about how Alabama will be evaluated moving forward knowing that Tua Tagovailoa is not going to be there?

ROB MULLENS: No, we do not project, we do not look forward. Our charge is to rank the teams based on their body of work through week 12, and that’s what we did. Obviously we’ll watch the games moving forward and evaluate them after that.

 

 

CFP Rankings: Notre Dame Done No Favors by Committee

Auburn clearly has a better win to its name than Notre Dame has as the Tigers knocked off now No. 6 Oregon way back on opening weekend.

[jwplayer OoFi41Mv-er0jUifI]

The latest College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night with little actual movement at the top as Nos. 1-6 all remained the exact same as a week ago.

What will perhaps anger some Notre Dame fans however is what happened to the Irish after dismantling previously No. 23 Navy:

The Irish remained at 16 with three-loss Auburn coming in a spot above them at 15.

Auburn clearly has a better win to its name than Notre Dame has as the Tigers knocked off now No. 6 Oregon way back on opening weekend.

The Irish have one win over a top-25 team, that being in mid-October over No. 23 USC. They also knocked Navy out of the top-25 last week while Virginia Tech is knocking on the door to enter the rankings.

Is it frustrating that you see three losses next to Auburn’s name and two next to Notre Dame’s yet see the Tigers ranked ahead?

Absolutely.

But the problem here isn’t an Auburn/Notre Dame problem, it’s a Notre Dame/Michigan problem.

If Notre Dame shows up for that game and simply doesn’t get routed they’re not sitting at 16 right now, they’re a couple spots higher and the path to a Cotton Bowl is much easier to figure out.

But get blown out in a game where a 45-14 was somehow worse than the score even indicated.

I wish I could work up the energy to be upset but it’s as simple as that late-October date in Ann Arbor will probably cost the Irish a New Year’s Six date, which sucks for Irish fans but is plenty deserved.

Angry Tweets: CFB fans react to Georgia’s No. 4 ranking

Angry college football fans tweet after Georgia football checked in at No. 4 in the CFP Rankings.

On Tuesday night, Georgia checked in at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, remaining the highest ranked one-loss team.

According to the most recent edition of the CFP rankings, Georgia’s ranked wins include:

No. 16 Notre Dame

No. 10 Florida

No. 15 Auburn

The full top-six is as follows:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. Alabama

6. Oregon

Surprisingly, Texas A&M, which Georgia hosts this weekend, remained unranked despite checking in at No. 23 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Top-25.

Following the release of the rankings, college football fans gave their thoughts on Twitter.

Originally, I was planning on making this an article that included happy tweets from UGA fans. Then, as I browsed Twitter all I saw was triggered fans of other schools…mostly Alabama. 

Enjoy.

Michigan moves up in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings

Michigan football got a big win last week over Michigan State. With others ahead of them losing, how far do the Wolverines move up?

[jwplayer EZymdmas-XNcErKyb]

Last week Michigan fell a spot in the College Football Playoff Rankings, falling to 15. This week, multiple teams ahead of them lost and the Wolverines won 44-10 over their rival Michigan State. Michigan would move up in the latest rankings as they were given a good shake up after the upsets and close games that happened last week.

No. 4 Georgia beat No. 12 Auburn, No. 20 Iowa beat No. 8 Minnesota, No. 10 Oklahoma beat No. 13 Baylor, Iowa State beat No. 19 Texas and West Virginia beat No. 24 Kansas State. All of those games will have an impact on the latest rankings this week as new teams should emerge in the rankings.

Check out the latest edition of them below.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS WEEK 13:

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Georgia
  5. Alabama
  6. Oregon
  7. Utah
  8. Penn State
  9. Oklahoma
  10. Minnesota
  11. Florida
  12. Wisconsin
  13. Michigan
  14. Baylor
  15. Auburn
  16. Notre Dame
  17. Iowa
  18. Memphis
  19. Cincinnati
  20. Boise State
  21. Oklahoma State
  22. Iowa State
  23. USC
  24. Appalachian State
  25. SMU
Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs